Arms flow in, but no clues
67 weapons seized in Bandarban in a week
Our Correspondent, Bandarban
The security forces and intelligence agencies are clueless about arms cache in Naikhangchhari from where they are repeatedly recovering huge number of sophisticated arms, ammunition and explosives.In one week until Thursday, paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and the army have seized 67 modern weapons and at least 30,000 bullets from the upazila near the Myanmar border. The forces in at least 30 incidents have seized huge arms and ammunition in the last two years. The seizure includes anti-air rocket launchers, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, heavy explosives, rifles like AK47, M16, M69, LMG, SMG, SMC, shotguns and sophisticated pistols. Army sources said the weapons in the last two arms hauls were brand new, while the previously seized ones were used. The magazines of the AK47 seized on Thursday were novel. "These magazines are drum-like and round, unusual to the earlier recoveries," said a source. The seizures indicate smugglers and militants use the remote hilly forest areas, which have 288-kilometre-long border with Myanmar, as a route for smuggling and place for hoarding arms and ammunition. Sources said a strong network of arms smugglers from China, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar uses the Rakhine and Rohingya rebels of Myanmar to take this route as a transit point. Locals allege two organisations -- Rohingya Solitary Organisation (RSO) and Rohingya Nationalist Organisation (RNO) -- are active in the areas. The law enforcers and security forces have recovered huge quantity of arms, but could not arrest too many of the gunrunners. The forces however arrested 30 foreign nationals from June 17 until August this year and seized 24 AK47 rifles, 33 foreign pistols, thirteen .303 rifles, eight other rifles, one heavy machine gun, one SMC, one sack and two carton of TNT explosives, six rocket shells, four grenades, 33,000 bullets, four walkie-talkies, two hand microphones, 20 military uniforms and other military accessories. Although the forces repeatedly denied existence of dens of foreign militants inside Bangladesh, they had three battles with the terrorists in June this year. They even did not disclose the identities of the arrestees. Sources said the border areas cannot be made secure with only 18 BOPs (border observation post) on the 112-kilometre-long border with Myanmar along Bandarban. They said the district administration had repeatedly expressed its limitations and asked the government to increase the BOPs in vein.
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